Guest blogger Navaz Taraporevala

December 17, 2010Navaz Taraporevala

United Way invited my husband, Zubin, and I as guest speakers in
November at the Koinonia foster youth group home in Loomis, CA.
We shared our experiences about growing up in a different
culture, since both of us grew up in India. We were very
impressed by their curiosity to learn about a different culture
and by the intelligent questions they asked about our experiences
and customs.

The young ladies were eager to dress up in traditional attire
from different regions of India like the sari, ghaghra-choli and
salwar-kamiz. While the young men enjoyed playing a game similar
to baseball, called cricket. Everyone must have enjoyed the
snacks, tandoori chicken, pakoras or fritters (dipping vegetables
in a batter of gram flour and then deep-frying them) & naan
(Indian flatbread), since it was all eaten up! We brought
different Indian fabrics and household items for them to explore.
They were happy to receive an Indian coin as a keepsake and
enjoyed the interactive nature of the workshop.

We were very pleased at meeting these wonderful young men and
women, ages 15 to 18. We felt great hope for the future of these
youth. My family, including my two sons (ages 8 & 6), received
benefits from this workshop. We acquired a better appreciation
for life in general and not taking our own little family for
granted. The professionalism and emotional support provided by
Koinonia employees impressed us. We enjoyed this experience a lot
and would love to do this again.